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Title: |
Divinum Illud Munus
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Descr.: |
On The Holy Spirit
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Pope: |
Pope Leo XIII
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Date: |
May 9, 1897
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To
Our Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops,
Bishops, and Other Local Ordinaries Having Peace and Communion
with the Holy See.
Venerable
Brethren, Health and the Apostolic Benediction.
1.
That divine office which Jesus Christ received from His Father for
the welfare of mankind, and most perfectly fulfilled, had for its
final object to put men in possession of the eternal life of
glory, and proximately during the course of ages to secure to them
the life of divine grace, which is destined eventually to blossom
into the life of heaven. Wherefore, our Savior never ceases to
invite, with infinite affection, all men, of every race and
tongue, into the bosom of His Church: "Come ye all to
Me," "I am the Life," "I am the Good
Shepherd." Nevertheless, according to His inscrutable
counsels, He did not will to entirely complete and finish this
office Himself on earth, but as He had received it from the
Father, so He transmitted it for its completion to the Holy Ghost.
It is consoling to recall those assurances which Christ gave to
the body of His disciples a little before He left the earth:
"It is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the
Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send Him to
you" (1 John xvi., 7). In these words He gave as the chief
reason of His departure and His return to the Father, the
advantage which would most certainly accrue to His followers from
the coming of the Holy Ghost, and, at the same time, He made it
clear that the Holy Ghost is equally sent by - and therefore
proceeds from - Himself and the Father; that He would complete, in
His office of Intercessor, Consoler, and Teacher, the work which
Christ Himself had begun in His mortal life. For, in the
redemption of the world, the completion of the work was by Divine
Providence reserved to the manifold power of that Spirit, who, in
the creation, "adorned the heavens" (Job xxvi., 13), and
"filled the whole world" (Wisdom i., 7).
The
Two Principal Aims of Our Pontificate
2.
Now We have earnestly striven, by the help of His grace, to follow
the example of Christ, Our Savior, the Prince of Pastors, and the
Bishop of our Souls, by diligently carrying on His office,
entrusted by Him to the Apostles and chiefly to Peter, "whose
dignity faileth not, even in his unworthy successor" (St. Leo
the Great, Sermon ii., On the Anniversary of his Election). In
pursuance of this object We have endeavored to direct all that We
have attempted and persistently carried out during a long
pontificate towards two chief ends: in the first place, towards
the restoration, both in rulers and peoples, of the principles of
the Christian life in civil and domestic society, since there is
no true life for men except from Christ; and, secondly, to promote
the reunion of those who have fallen away from the Catholic Church
either by heresy or by schism, since it is most undoubtedly the
will of Christ that all should be united in one flock under one
Shepherd. But now that We are looking forward to the approach of
the closing days of Our life, Our soul is deeply moved to dedicate
to the Holy Ghost, who is the life-giving Love, all the work We
have done during Our pontificate, that He may bring it to maturity
and fruitfulness. In order the better and more fully to carry out
this Our intention, We have resolved to address you at the
approaching sacred season of Pentecost concerning the indwelling
and miraculous power of the Holy Ghost; and the extent and
efficiency of His action, both in the whole body of the Church and
in the individual souls of its members, through the glorious
abundance of His divine graces. We earnestly desire that, as a
result, faith may be aroused in your minds concerning the mystery
of the adorable Trinity, and especially that piety may increase
and be inflamed towards the Holy Ghost, to whom especially all of
us owe the grace of following the paths of truth and virtue; for,
as St. Basil said, "Who denieth that the dispensations
concerning man, which have been made by the great God and our
Savior, Jesus Christ, according to the goodness of God, have been
fulfilled through the grace of the Spirit?" (Of the Holy
Ghost, c. xvi., v. 39).
The
Catholic Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity
3.
Before We enter upon this subject, it will be both desirable and
useful to say a few words about the Mystery of the Blessed
Trinity. This dogma is called by the doctors of the Church
"the substance of the New Testament," that is to say,
the greatest of all mysteries, since it is the fountain and origin
of them all. In order to know and contemplate this mystery, the
angels were created in Heaven and men upon earth. In order to
teach more fully this mystery, which was but foreshadowed in the
Old Testament, God Himself came down from the angels unto men:
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John i.,
18). Whosoever then writes or speaks of the Trinity must keep
before His eyes the prudent warning of the Angelic Doctor:
"When we speak of the Trinity, we must do so with caution and
modesty, for, as St. Augustine saith, nowhere else are more
dangerous errors made, or is research more difficult, or discovery
more fruitful" (Summ. Th. la., q. xxxi. De Trin. 1 L, c. 3).
The danger that arises is lest the Divine Persons be confounded
one with the other in faith or worship, or lest the one Nature in
them be separated: for "This is the Catholic Faith, that we
should adore one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity."
Therefore Our predecessor Innocent XII, absolutely refused the
petition of those who desired a special festival in honor of God
the Father. For, although the separate mysteries connected with
the Incarnate Word are celebrated on certain fixed days, yet there
is no special feast on which the Word is honored according to His
Divine Nature alone. And even the Feast of Pentecost was
instituted in the earliest times, not simply to honor the Holy
Ghost in Himself, but to commemorate His coming, or His external
mission. And all this has been wisely ordained, lest from
distinguishing the Persons men should be led to distinguish the
Divine Essence. Moreover the Church, in order to preserve in her
children the purity of faith, instituted the Feast of the Most
Holy Trinity, which John XXII afterwards extended to the Universal
Church. He also permitted altars and churches to be dedicated to
the Blessed Trinity, and, with the divine approval, sanctioned the
Order for the Ransom of Captives, which is specially devoted to
the Blessed Trinity and bears Its name. Many facts confirm its
truths. The worship paid to the saints and angels, to the Mother
of God, and to Christ Himself, finally redounds to the honor of
the Blessed Trinity. In prayers addressed to one Person, there is
also mention of the others; in the litanies after the individual
Persons have been separately invoked, a common invocation of all
is added: all psalms and hymns conclude with the doxology to the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; blessings, sacred rites, and
sacraments are either accompanied or concluded by the invocation
of the Blessed Trinity. This was already foreshadowed by the
Apostle in those words: "For of Him, and by Him, and in Him,
are all things: to Him be glory for ever" (Rom. xi., 36),
thereby signifying both the Trinity of Persons and the Unity of
Nature: for as this is one and the same in each of the Persons, so
to each is equally owing supreme glory, as to one and the same
God. St. Augustine commenting upon this testimony writes:
"The words of the Apostle, of Him, and by Him, and in Him are
not to be taken indiscriminately; of Him refers to the Father, by
Him to the Son, in Him to the Holy Ghost" (De Trin. 1. vi.,
c. 10; 1. i., c. 6). The Church is accustomed most fittingly to
attribute to the Father those works of the Divinity in which power
excels, to the Son those in which wisdom excels, and those in
which love excels to the Holy Ghost. Not that all perfections and
external operations are not common to the Divine Persons; for
"the operations of the Trinity are indivisible, even as the
essence of the Trinity is indivisible" (St. Aug., De Trin.,
I. 1, cc. 4-5); because as the three Divine Persons "are
inseparable, so do they act inseparably" (St. Aug., i6.). But
by a certain comparison, and a kind of affinity between the
operations and the properties of the Persons, these operations are
attributed or, as it is said, "appropriated" to One
Person rather than to the others. "Just as we make use of the
traces of similarity or likeness which we find in creatures for
the manifestation of the Divine Persons, so do we use Their
essential attributes; and this manifestation of the Persons by
Their essential attributes is called appropriation" (St. Th.
la., q. 39, xxxix., a. 7). In this manner the Father, who is
"the principle of the whole Godhead" (St. Aug. De Trin.
1 iv., c. 20) is also the efficient cause of all things, of the
Incarnation of the Word, and the sanctification of souls; "of
Him are all things": of Him, referring to the Father. But the
Son, the Word, the Image of God is also the exemplar cause, whence
all creatures borrow their form and beauty, their order and
harmony. He is for us the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the
Reconciler of man with God. "By Him are all things": by
Him, referring to the Son. The Holy Ghost is the ultimate cause of
all things, since, as the will and all other things finally rest
in their end, so He, who is the Divine Goodness and the Mutual
Love of the Father and Son, completes and perfects, by His strong
yet gentle power, the secret work of man's eternal salvation.
"In Him are all things": in Him, referring to the Holy
Ghost.
The
Holy Ghost and the Incarnation
4.
Having thus paid the due tribute of faith and worship owing to the
Blessed Trinity, and which ought to be more and more inculcated
upon the Christian people, we now turn to the exposition of the
power of the Holy Ghost. And, first of all, we must look to
Christ, the Founder of the Church and the Redeemer of our race.
Among the external operations of God, the highest of all is the
mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, in which the splendor of
the divine perfections shines forth so brightly that nothing more
sublime can even be imagined, nothing else could have been more
salutary to the human race. Now this work, although belonging to
the whole Trinity, is still appropriated especially to the Holy
Ghost, so that the Gospels thus speak of the Blessed Virgin:
"She was found with child of the Holy Ghost," and
"that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost"
(Matt. i., 18, 20). And this is rightly attributed to Him who is
the love of the Father and the Son, since this "great mystery
of piety" (1 Tim. iii., 16) proceeds from the infinite love
of God towards man, as St. John tells us: "God so loved the
world as to give His only begotten Son" (John iii., 16).
Moreover, human nature was thereby elevated to a personal union
with the Word; and this dignity is given, not on account of any
merits, but entirely and absolutely through grace, and therefore,
as it were, through the special gift of the Holy Ghost. On this
point St. Augustine writes: "This manner in which Christ was
born of the Holy Ghost, indicates to us the grace of God, by which
humanity, with no antecedent merits, at the first moment of its
existence, was united with the Word of God, by so intimate a
personal union, that He, who was the Son of Man, was also the Son
of God, and He who was the Son of God was also the Son of
Man" (Enchir., c. xl. St. Th., 3a., q. xxxii., a. 1). By the
operation of the Holy Spirit, not only was the conception of
Christ accomplished, but also the sanctification of His soul,
which, in Holy Scripture, is called His "anointing"
(Acts x., 38). Wherefore all His actions were "performed in
the Holy Ghost" (St. Basil de Sp. S., c. xvi.), and
especially the sacrifice of Himself: "Christ, through the
Holy Ghost, offered Himself without spot to God" (Heb. ix.,
14). Considering this, no one can be surprised that all the gifts
of the Holy Ghost inundated the soul of Christ. In Him resided the
absolute fullness of grace, in the greatest and most efficacious
manner possible; in Him were all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge, graces gratis datae, virtues, and all other gifts
foretold in the prophecies of Isaias (Is. iv., I; xi., 23), and
also signified in that miraculous dove which appeared at the
Jordan, when Christ, by His baptism, consecrated its waters for a
new sacrament. On this the words of St. Augustine may
appropriately be quoted: "It would be absurd to say that
Christ received the Holy Ghost when He was already thirty years of
age, for He came to His baptism without sin, and therefore not
without the Holy Ghost. At this time, then (that is, at His
baptism), He was pleased to prefigure His Church, in which those
especially who are baptized receive the Holy Ghost" (De. Trin.
1., xv., c. 26). Therefore, by the conspicuous apparition of the
Holy Ghost over Christ and by His invisible power in His soul, the
twofold mission of the Spirit is foreshadowed, namely, His outward
and visible mission in the Church, and His secret indwelling in
the souls of the just.
The
Holy Ghost and the Church
5.
The Church which, already conceived, came forth from the side of
the second Adam in His sleep on the Cross, first showed herself
before the eyes of men on the great day of Pentecost. On that day
the Holy Ghost began to manifest His gifts in the mystic body of
Christ, by that miraculous outpouring already foreseen by the
prophet Joel (ii., 28-29), for the Paraclete "sat upon the
apostles as though new spiritual crowns were placed upon their
heads in tongues of fire" (S. Cyril Hier. Catech. 17). Then
the apostles "descended from the mountain," as St. John
Chrysostom writes, "not bearing in their hands tables of
stone like Moses, but carrying the Spirit in their mind, and
pouring forth the treasure and the fountain of doctrines and
graces" (In Matt. Hom. L, 2 Cor. iii., 3). Thus was fully
accomplished that last promise of Christ to His apostles of
sending the Holy Ghost, who was to complete and, as it were, to
seal the deposit of doctrine committed to them under His
inspiration. "I have yet many things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now; but when He, the Spirit of Truth, shall
come, He will teach you all truth" (John xvi., 12-13). For He
who is the Spirit of Truth, inasmuch as He proceedeth both from
the Father, who is the eternally True, and from the Son, who is
the substantial Truth, receiveth from each both His essence and
the fullness of all truth. This truth He communicates to His
Church, guarding her by His all powerful help from ever falling
into error, and aiding her to foster daily more and more the germs
of divine doctrine and to make them fruitful for the welfare of
the peoples. And since the welfare of the peoples, for which the
Church was established, absolutely requires that this office
should be continued for all time, the Holy Ghost perpetually
supplies life and strength to preserve and increase the Church.
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another
Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of
Truth" (John xiv., 16, 17).
6.
By Him the bishops are constituted, and by their ministry are
multiplied not only the children, but also the fathers - that is to
say, the priests - to rule and feed the Church by that Blood
wherewith Christ has redeemed Her. "The Holy Ghost hath
placed you bishops to rule the Church of God, which He hath
purchased with His own Blood" (Acts xx., 28). And both
bishops and priests, by the miraculous gift of the Spirit, have
the power of absolving sins, according to those words of Christ to
the Apostles: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you
shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose you shall retain
they are retained" (John xx., 22, 23). That the Church is a
divine institution is most clearly proved by the splendor and
glory of those gifts and graces with which she is adorned, and
whose author and giver is the Holy Ghost. Let it suffice to state
that, as Christ is the Head of the Church, so is the Holy Ghost
her soul. "What the soul is in our body, that is the Holy
Ghost in Christ's body, the Church" (St. Aug., Serm. 187, de
Temp.). This being so, no further and fuller "manifestation
and revelation of the Divine Spirit" may be imagined or
expected; for that which now takes place in the Church is the most
perfect possible, and will last until that day when the Church
herself, having passed through her militant career, shall be taken
up into the joy of the saints triumphing in heaven.
The
Holy Ghost in the Souls of the Just
7.
The manner and extent of the action of the Holy Ghost in
individual souls is no less wonderful, although somewhat more
difficult to understand, inasmuch as it is entirely invisible.
This outpouring of the Spirit is so abundant, that Christ Himself,
from whose gift it proceeds, compares it to an overflowing river,
according to those words of St. John: "He that believeth in
Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his midst shall flow rivers of
living water"; to which testimony the Evangelist adds the
explanation: "Now this He said of the Spirit which they
should receive who believed in Him" (John vii., 38, 39). It
is indeed true that in those of the just who lived before Christ,
the Holy Ghost resided by grace, as we read in the Scriptures
concerning the prophets, Zachary, John the Baptist, Simeon, and
Anna; so that on Pentecost the Holy Ghost did not communicate
Himself in such a way "as then for the first time to begin to
dwell in the saints, but by pouring Himself forth more abundantly;
crowning, not beginning His gifts; not commencing a new work, but
giving more abundantly" (St. Leo the Great, Hom. iii., de
Pentec.). But if they also were numbered among the children of
God, they were in a state like that of servants, for "as long
as the heir is a child he differeth nothing from a servant, but is
under tutors and governors" (Gal. iv., I, 2). Moreover, not
only was their justice derived from the merits of Christ who was
to come, but the communication of the Holy Ghost after Christ was
much more abundant, just as the price surpasses in value the
earnest and the reality excels the image. Wherefore St. John
declares: "As yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified" (John vii., 39). So soon, therefore, as
Christ, "ascending on high," entered into possession of
the glory of His Kingdom which He had won with so much labor, He
munificently opened out the treasures of the Holy Ghost: "He
gave gifts to men" (Eph. iv., 8). For "that giving or
sending forth of the Holy Ghost after Christ's glorification was
to be such as had never been before; not that there had been none
before, but it had not been of the same kind" (St. Aug., De
Trin., 1. iv. c. 20).
8.
Human nature is by necessity the servant of God: "The
creature is a servant; we are the servants of God by nature"
(St. Cyr. Alex., Thesaur. I. v., c. 5). On account, however, of
original sin, our whole nature had fallen into such guilt and
dishonor that we had become enemies to God. "We were by
nature the children of wrath" (Eph. ii., 3). There was no
power which could raise us and deliver us from this ruin and
eternal destruction. But God, the Creator of mankind and
infinitely merciful, did this through His only begotten Son, by
whose benefit it was brought about that man was restored to that
rank and dignity whence he had fallen, and was adorned with still
more abundant graces. No one can express the greatness of this
work of divine grace in the souls of men. Wherefore, both in Holy
Scripture and in the writings of the fathers, men are styled
regenerated, new creatures, partakers of the Divine Nature,
children of God, god-like, and similar epithets. Now these great
blessings are justly attributed as especially belonging to the
Holy Ghost. He is "the Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we
cry: Abba, Father." He fills our hearts with the sweetness of
paternal love: "The Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our
spirit that we are the sons of God" (Rom. viii., 15-16). This
truth accords with the similitude observed by the Angelic Doctor
between both operations of the Holy Ghost; for through Him
"Christ was conceived in holiness to be by nature the Son of
God," and "others are sanctified to be the sons of God
by adoption" (St. Th. 3a, q. xxxii., a. I). This spiritual
generation proceeds from love in a much more noble manner than the
natural...
9.
The beginnings of this regeneration and renovation of man are by
Baptism. In this sacrament, when the unclean spirit has been
expelled from the soul, the Holy Ghost enters in and makes it like
to Himself. "That which is born of the Spirit, is
spirit" (John iii., 6). The same Spirit gives Himself more
abundantly in Confirmation, strengthening and confirming Christian
life; from which proceeded the victory of the martyrs and the
triumph of the virgins over temptations and corruptions. We have
said that the Holy Ghost gives Himself: "the charity of God
is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to
us" (Rom. v., 5). For He not only brings to us His divine
gifts, but is the Author of them and is Himself the supreme Gift,
who, proceeding from the mutual love of the Father and the Son, is
justly believed to be and is called "Gift of God most
High." To show the nature and efficacy of this gift it is
well to recall the explanation given by the doctors of the Church
of the words of Holy Scripture. They say that God is present and
exists in all things, "by His power, in so far as all things
are subject to His power; by His presence, inasmuch as all things
are naked and open to His eyes; by His essence, inasmuch as he is
present to all as the cause of their being." (St. Th. Ia, q.
viii., a. 3). But God is in man, not only as in inanimate things,
but because he is more fully known and loved by him, since even by
nature we spontaneously love, desire, and seek after the good.
Moreover, God by grace resides in the just soul as in a temple, in
a most intimate and peculiar manner. From this proceeds that union
of affection by which the soul adheres most closely to God, more
so than the friend is united to his most loving and beloved
friend, and enjoys God in all fullness and sweetness. Now this
wonderful union, which is properly called "indwelling,"
differing only in degree or state from that with which God
beatifies the saints in heaven, although it is most certainly
produced by the presence of the whole Blessed Trinity - "We
will come to Him and make our abode with Him," (John xiv.
23.) - nevertheless is attributed in a peculiar manner to the Holy
Ghost. For, whilst traces of divine power and wisdom appear even
in the wicked man, charity, which, as it were, is the special mark
of the Holy Ghost, is shared in only by the just. In harmony with
this, the same Spirit is called Holy, for He, the first and
supreme Love, moves souls and leads them to sanctity, which
ultimately consists in the love of God. Wherefore the apostle when
calling us to the temple of God, does not expressly mention the
Father or the Son, but the Holy Ghost: "Know ye not that your
members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you
have from God?" (1 Cor. vi. 19). The fullness of divine gifts
is in many ways a consequence of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost
in the souls of the just. For, as St. Thomas teaches, "when
the Holy Ghost proceedeth as love, He proceedeth in the character
of the first gift; whence Augustine saith that, through the gift
which is the Holy Ghost, many other special gifts are distributed
among the members of Christ." (Summ. Th., la. q. xxxviii., a.
2. St. Aug. de Trin., xv., c. 19). Among these gifts are those
secret warnings and invitations, which from time to time are
excited in our minds and hearts by the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost. Without these there is no beginning of a good life, no
progress, no arriving at eternal salvation. And since these words
and admonitions are uttered in the soul in an exceedingly secret
manner, they are sometimes aptly compared in Holy Writ to the
breathing of a coming breeze, and the Angelic Doctor likens them
to the movements of the heart which are wholly hidden in the
living body. "Thy heart has a certain hidden power, and
therefore the Holy Ghost, who invisibly vivifies and unites the
Church, is compared to the heart."(Summ. Th. 3a, q. vii., a.
I, ad 3). More than this, the just man, that is to say he who
lives the life of divine grace, and acts by the fitting virtues as
by means of faculties, has need of those seven gifts which are
properly attributed to the Holy Ghost. By means of them the soul
is furnished and strengthened so as to obey more easily and
promptly His voice and impulse. Wherefore these gifts are of such
efficacy that they lead the just man to the highest degree of
sanctity; and of such excellence that they continue to exist even
in heaven, though in a more perfect way. By means of these gifts
the soul is excited and encouraged to seek after and attain the
evangelical beatitudes, which, like the flowers that come forth in
the springtime, are the signs and harbingers of eternal
beatitude. Lastly there are those blessed fruits, enumerated by
the Apostle (Gal. v., 22), which the Spirit, even in this mortal
life, produces and shows forth in the just; fruits filled with all
sweetness and joy, inasmuch as they proceed from the Spirit,
"who is in the Trinity the sweetness of both Father and Son,
filling all creatures with infinite fullness and profusion."
(St. Aug. de Trin. 1. vi., c. 9). The Divine Spirit, proceeding
from the Father and the Word in the eternal light of sanctity,
Himself both Love and Gift, after having manifested Himself
through the veils of figures in the Old Testament, poured forth
all his fullness upon Christ and upon His mystic Body, the Church;
and called back by his presence and grace men who were going away
in wickedness and corruption with such salutary effect that, being
no longer of the earth; earthy, they relished and desired quite
other things, becoming of heaven; heavenly.
On
Devotion to the Holy Ghost
10.
These sublime truths, which so clearly show forth the infinite
goodness of the Holy Ghost towards us, certainly demand that we
should direct towards Him the highest homage of our love and
devotion. Christians may do this most effectually if they will
daily strive to know Him, to love Him, and to implore Him more
earnestly; for which reason may this Our exhortation, flowing
spontaneously from a paternal heart, reach their ears. Perchance
there are still to be found among them, even nowadays, some, who
if asked, as were those of old by St. Paul the Apostle, whether
they have received the Holy Ghost, might answer in like manner:
"We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy
Ghost" (Acts xix., 2). At least there are certainly many who
are very deficient in their religious practices, but their faith
is involved in much darkness. Wherefore all preachers and those
having care of souls should remember that it is their duty to
instruct their people more diligently and more fully about the
Holy Ghost - avoiding, however, difficult and subtle controversies,
and eschewing the dangerous folly of those who rashly endeavor to
pry into divine mysteries. What should be chiefly dwelt upon and
clearly explained is the multitude and greatness of the benefits
which have been bestowed, and are constantly bestowed, upon us by
this Divine Giver, so that errors and ignorance concerning matters
of such moment may be entirely dispelled, as unworthy of "the
children of light." We urge this, not only because it affects
a mystery by which we are directly guided to eternal life, and
which must therefore be firmly believed; but also because the more
clearly and fully the good is known the more earnestly it is
loved. Now we owe to the Holy Ghost, as we mentioned in the second
place, love, because He is God: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy
whole strength" (Deut. vi., 5). He is also to be loved
because He is the substantial, eternal, primal Love, and nothing
is more lovable than love. And this all the more because He has
overwhelmed us with the greatest benefits, which both testify to
the benevolence of the Giver and claim the gratitude of the
receiver. This love has a twofold and most conspicuous utility. In
the first place it will excite us to acquire daily a clearer
knowledge about the Holy Ghost; for, as the Angelic Doctor says,
"the lover is not content with the superficial knowledge of
the beloved, but striveth to inquire intimately into all that
appertains to the beloved, and thus to penetrate into the
interior; as is said of the Holy Ghost, Who is the Love of God,
that He searcheth even the profound things of God" (1 Cor.
ii., 10; Summ. Theol., la. 2ae., q. 28, a. 2). In the second place
it will obtain for us a still more abundant supply of heavenly
gifts; for whilst a narrow heart contracteth the hand of the
giver, a grateful and mindful heart causeth it to expand. Yet we
must strive that this love should be of such a nature as not to
consist merely in dry speculations or external observances, but
rather to run forward towards action, and especially to fly from
sin, which is in a more special manner offensive to the Holy
Spirit. For whatever we are, that we are by the divine goodness;
and this goodness is specially attributed to the Holy Ghost. The
sinner offends this his Benefactor, abusing His gifts; and taking
advantage of His goodness becomes more hardened in sin day by day.
Again, since He is the Spirit of Truth, whosoever faileth by
weakness or ignorance may perhaps have some excuse before Almighty
God; but he who resists the truth through malice and turns away
from it, sins most grievously against the Holy Ghost. In our days
this sin has become so frequent that those dark times seem to have
come which were foretold by St. Paul, in which men, blinded by the
just judgment of God, should take falsehood for truth, and should
believe in "the prince of this world," who is a liar and
the father thereof, as a teacher of truth: "God shall send
them the operation of error, to believe lying (2 Thess. ii., 10).
In the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
spirits of error and the doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. iv.,
1). But since the Holy Ghost, as We have said, dwells in us as in
His temple, We must repeat the warning of the Apostle:
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are
sealed" (Eph. iv., 30). Nor is it enough to fly from sin;
every Christian ought to shine with the splendor of virtue so as
to be pleasing to so great and so beneficent a guest; and first of
all with chastity and holiness, for chaste and holy things befit
the temple. Hence the words of the Apostle: "Know you not
that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? But if any man violate the temple of God, him
shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you
are" (1 Cor. iii., 16-17): a terrible, indeed, but a just
warning.
11.
Lastly, we ought to pray to and invoke the Holy Spirit, for each
one of us greatly needs His protection and His help. The more a
man is deficient in wisdom, weak in strength, borne down with
trouble, prone to sin, so ought he the more to fly to Him who is
the never-ceasing fount of light, strength, consolation, and
holiness. And chiefly that first requsite of man, the forgiveness
of sins, must be sought for from Him: "It is the special
character of the Holy Ghost that He is the Gift of the Father and
the Son. Now the remission of all sins is given by the Holy Ghost
as by the Gift of God" (Summ. Th. 3a, q. iii., a. 8, ad 3m).
Concerning this Spirit the words of the Liturgy are very explicit:
"For He is the remission of all sins" (Roman Missal,
Tuesday after Pentecost). How He should be invoked is clearly
taught by the Church, who addresses Him in humble supplication,
calling upon Him by the sweetest of names: "Come, Father of
the poor! Come, Giver of gifts! Come, Light of our hearts! O, best
of Consolers, sweet Guest of the soul, our refreshment!"
(Hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus). She earnestly implores Him to wash,
heal, water our minds and hearts, and to give to us who trust in
Him "the merit of virtue, the acquirement of salvation, and
joy everlasting." Nor can it be in any way doubted that He
will listen to such prayer, since we read the words written by His
own inspiration: "The Spirit Himself asketh for us with
unspeakable groanings" (Rom. viii., 26). Lastly, we ought
confidently and continually to beg of Him to illuminate us daily
more and more with His light and inflame us with His charity: for,
thus inspired with faith and love, we may press onward earnestly
towards our eternal reward, since He "is the pledge of our
inheritance" (Eph. i. 14).
12.
Such, Venerable Brethren, are the teachings and exhortations which
We have seen good to utter, in order to stimulate devotion to the
Holy Ghost. We have no doubt that, chiefly by means of your zeal
and earnestness, they will bear abundant fruit among Christian
peoples. We Ourselves shall never in the future fail to labor
towards so important an end; and it is even Our intention, in
whatever ways may appear suitable, to further cultivate and extend
this admirable work of piety. Meanwhile, as two years ago, in Our
Letter Provida Matris, We recommended to Catholics special prayers
at the Feast of Pentecost, for the reunion of Christendom, so now
We desire to make certain further decrees on the same subject.
An
Annual Novena Decreed
13.
Wherefore, We decree and command that throughout the whole
Catholic Church, this year and in every subsequent year, a Novena
shall take place before Whit-Sunday, in all parish churches, and
also, if the local Ordinaries think fit, in other churches and
oratories. To all who take part in this Novena and duly pray for
Our intention, We grant for each day an Indulgence of seven years
and seven quarantines; moreover, a Plenary Indulgence on any one
of the days of the Novena, or on Whit-Sunday itself, or on any day
during the Octave; provided they shall have received the
Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, and devoutly prayed
for Our intention. We will that those who are legitimately
prevented from attending the Novena, or who are in places where
the devotions cannot, in the judgment of the Ordinary, be
conveniently carried out in church, shall equally enjoy the same
benefits, provided they make the Novena privately and observe the
other conditions. Moreover We are pleased to grant, in perpetuity,
from the Treasury of the Church, that whosoever, daily during the
Octave of Pentecost up to Trinity Sunday inclusive, offer again
publicly or privately any prayers, according to their devotion, to
the Holy Ghost, and satisfy the above conditions, shall a second
time gain each of the same Indulgences. All these Indulgences We
also permit to be applied to the suffrage of the souls in
Purgatory.
14.
And now Our mind and heart turn back to those hopes with which We
began, and for the accomplishment of which We earnestly pray, and
will continue to pray, to the Holy Ghost. Unite, then, Venerable
Brethren, your prayers with Ours, and at your exhortation let all
Christian peoples add their prayers also, invoking the powerful
and ever-acceptable intercession of the Blessed Virgin. You know
well the intimate and wonderful relations existing between her and
the Holy Ghost, so that she is justly called His Spouse. The
intercession of the Blessed Virgin was of great avail both in the
mystery of the Incarnation and in the coming of the Holy Ghost
upon the Apostles. May she continue to strengthen our prayers with
her suffrages, that, in the midst of all the stress and trouble of
the nations, those divine prodigies may be happily revived by the
Holy Ghost, which were foretold in the words of David: "Send
forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew
the face of the earth" (Ps. ciii., 30).
15.
As a pledge of Divine favor and a testimony of Our affection,
Venerable Brethren, to you, to your Clergy, and people, We gladly
impart in the Lord the Apostolic Benediction.
Given
at St. Peter's, in Rome, on the 9th day of May, 1897, in the 20th
year of Our Pontificate.
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